Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. spoke with media at training camp report day and gave updates on his injured hip, offseaason workouts with his teammates, and his impressions on rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson. (Video by Jake Arthur)
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 So, does this ever get old?
00:05 No, no, I mean, it doesn't get old, but it feels different.
00:09 I'm not scared, I don't have anxiety about it.
00:14 It's more like what I do now.
00:17 It's just become a natural part of my life.
00:20 Training camp comes once a year, so let's have fun doing it.
00:24 You didn't really have a chance to work with the quarterbacks
00:27 because you were taking care of more important business.
00:30 What do you want to accomplish in the next couple of weeks with them specifically?
00:35 Yeah, I just want to build their confidence in me
00:39 and just build their confidence in our offense
00:42 and just set the tone that we're going to be a physical, fast offense
00:47 and that we're going to pass the ball a lot, hopefully.
00:51 And yeah, that's pretty much it.
00:55 You guys worked in the offseason after OTAs and camp.
00:58 Did you get a chance to get out and get some more time?
01:00 Yeah, so we actually took a trip down to Miami.
01:03 We had a little three-day straight, and it was fun.
01:08 We got some good work in.
01:09 We were working pretty much from 8:30 to 12, and then after that, we just hung out.
01:14 We fished, we went to the beach, and went to dinner a couple times, and had a lot of fun.
01:19 All three quarterbacks and receivers, or how was it?
01:22 Yeah, so we had all three quarterbacks and I would say 95% of our offensive skill players.
01:27 I mean, you can't expect everybody to drop plans they've had for a year or two.
01:32 You know what I'm saying?
01:33 So we had a really good turnout.
01:35 I thought it went well because this is my first time kind of helping set something like that up.
01:40 So I was very pleased with how it went because we did meetings, we did walk-throughs,
01:44 and we did routes on air, which is better than what I thought it was going to be.
01:48 So I was pretty pleased with how it turned out.
01:50 You mentioned OTAs, what they have.
01:52 Did you participate?
01:53 Were you able to play football?
01:55 Yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:56 So I was there full go for all three days, and we've been running routes pretty much almost a week after OTAs is when I started to run.
02:07 So hip's just not an issue right now?
02:10 No, no.
02:11 So it's getting better, and we're going to keep going and progress through camp, but I will be out there on day one.
02:18 So who's in charge of the meetings?
02:20 There's no coaches, so who's in charge?
02:22 So it was mainly quarterbacks, and then I said a couple things about opening statements,
02:27 but really the quarterbacks are the offensive leaders, so you let them lead because I want those other guys to see,
02:34 "Hey, these are the QBs. We're going to listen to them and what they say."
02:37 How much do you think those kind of get-togethers matter when you get out here?
02:42 Do you think there's a lot of carryover?
02:44 Yeah, because it shows commitment because everybody came out there on their own dollar.
02:49 You know what I'm saying?
02:50 In the past, we had some higher-net worth quarterbacks that would pay for that,
02:56 but the fact that everybody came out on their own dollar shows that everybody is committed and that they're serious about it.
03:05 You're used to working with those veterans. What's it been like working with Anthony so far?
03:08 Yeah, I mean, Anthony has been great.
03:11 Everything that he does, I mean, he's a physical specimen.
03:15 Just looking at him, when I first saw him, I'm like, "This dude looks like a running back, quarterback.
03:20 He looks like he'd be an elite receiver. He looks like he can do it all."
03:24 His arm strength, he'll just drop back and he'll just flick his wrist. The ball goes 80 yards. He's insane.
03:30 Do you feel like you've gotten to know him much so far?
03:33 Yeah, so he's kind of a quiet guy in general, but I feel like I'm getting to know him better.
03:39 He's just so focused in his work that sometimes he forgets that we're his friends, too.
03:46 We're not just his co-workers. We want to be cool and have fun together, too.
03:54 This is another year, another change of quarterback. You've got to be used to it.
04:01 But isn't it important to be together and work together?
04:04 Well, I mean, it's important to get that work, but again, the NFL is constant changing.
04:10 You never know what can happen. You don't want to be expecting something and then you have a 360 and something else happens.
04:21 So you just kind of roll with it. It makes no difference to me at this point. We're just going to keep playing.
04:30 Was this something you kept planned for you all? Was this something you just kind of spontaneously did after drafting a young quarterback?
04:36 Yeah, so it was basically – I don't want to say it was 100 percent planned, but it wasn't spontaneous.
04:43 It's something that we do every year that we try to do at least once a year.
04:48 So we always planned to do it. I just didn't know when and I didn't know where that we were going to go,
04:55 but we decided on Miami and it was fun. So I'm glad that we did it.
04:59 You're considered a veteran in the wide receiver room.
05:01 So what is some advice you're giving to Josh Dowd and some of the younger guys entering this group?
05:05 Yeah, I would say the most important thing that I told them is don't read everything good they say
05:10 and don't read everything bad they say because for young guys who don't know, they could be reading these stuff
05:16 and actually believe it. You know what I'm saying?
05:18 A lot of these times – I mean, you guys are very knowledgeable, but you guys don't always know what's going on
05:24 inside of our tight circle that's in the building. So I just told them don't believe the good stuff
05:31 and don't believe the bad stuff and just stay consistent.
05:34 That was a very diplomatic answer. I was going to say, with Anthony, it's such a tall task, I feel like,
05:42 for a rookie quarterback to – whenever he becomes a starter, as you mentioned, right?
05:46 That's a big job, a lot of eyeballs, all that. How do you think he's sort of prepared for that?
05:51 He seems like he's well-equipped for that part of it.
05:53 Yeah, I think that he's a very confident guy and I think that's probably the most important trait
05:59 in NFL players, period, is confident guys. So he has that and he works hard.
06:07 He's always studying his playbook. I can barely get him to look up at me sometimes.
06:13 I'm like, "Hey, Ant," and he's down like this, looking at his playbook. I'm like, "Anthony!"
06:18 So he's just always working and he just has a great work ethic and I just can't see him
06:26 not being successful, the work that he puts in.
06:29 Quit talking about the extension. Is there anything there or do you plan on just playing after contract?
06:35 Oh, I don't worry about that stuff. I'm just out here focused on camp, just playing every day.
06:40 It's a different day. Every day is different from the next. It's treated like an individual day,
06:48 separated from the other one. So I'm just working on having fun and doing what I can do to make this team better.
06:56 And then all that will happen later on, sooner. Sooner or later on, never.
07:02 It don't make no difference to me. I'm here to play now.
07:06 There is some value to putting together a big year, right?
07:09 Oh yeah.
07:10 And maximizing your opportunities. I mean, this is a business, right?
07:12 Yeah, no, absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, every year that you play is basically like a job audition for 32 teams.
07:25 It's a job audition for your team and the 31 others. So that's kind of how I've taken every year.
07:31 Because you never know what happens. You get to the end of the year, they might be like,
07:35 "You know what, Pitt? You stink. We don't want you no more." And then I've got to go find a new place to play.
07:39 So, yeah. You guys know it's okay to come. Just get off.
07:43 Oh, look at you. Wow.